Sunday, July 30, 2017

Goodbye Sunday, see you next week!

Goodbye Sunday,
It was a pleasure,
Like we always desire,
With some entertainment,
Indoors,
And outdoors,
With special foods,
From breakfast,
To dinner,
And some leisure,
With the whole family,
Together,
Enjoying,
Every moment.
We are bidding goodbye,
To a happy Sunday,
With a delicious dessert,
Of Italy,
The famous Vanilla Panna Cotta,
Made at home lovingly.
It melts in the mouth,
Giving lots of pleasure,
Like a Sunday.
Goodbye Sunday,
See you next week!

Thursday, July 27, 2017

May this love for plants blossom among all!

Is it love for plants?
Or love of water?
Whatever,
Watering plants,
Is very dear!
To both brothers,
Atharv the younger,
Whom you see in these pictures,
And Vihaan the elder.
Even after watering,
All the plants,
Getting them indoor,
Is a difficult chore.
May this love for plants,
Blossom among all children,
And all adults,
To make our environs,
Appear like heaven!


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Witness to plant life that is ever resurrecting and proliferating!

Come rainy season I witness plant life resurrecting and proliferating in our small garden. Truly rain brings even dead land back to life. Only those who have a personal garden can witness this wonder, in our Twin Cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. There is no greenery along most roads and colonies of our City and even grass and shrubs that come out everywhere after the rains are not easily visible here. To see these wonders one has to move out of the city or visit Parks in the city.
Coming back to our garden and the topic, I wish to tell you about the Curry Leaf tree in our house. It is quite old and huge and has the most fragrant and delicious Curry Leaves. As you may be aware this is the most common and everyday essential ingredient of our cuisine. In this season the tree bears fruits and on ripening they drop down and soon plantlets crop up from them in large numbers. Miraculously plants also crop up from some crevices along walls and from places from where I may have uprooted them before. The topmost photograph shows one favorite location for the Curry Leaf plant to crop up. It is from a crevice on the outer side of our garden’s small brick border, right in front of the milestone with the name of our house on it. I do not remember how many times I have plucked out such growth, but every season it comes up again. There may be a scientific explanation for this but to me all this seems like a miracle, miracle of resurrection!
Rain not only brings dead land to life, it provides water to us, the plants, the trees, every animal and every life and it helps me in distributing Curry Leaf plants to friends and strangers!


Saturday, July 22, 2017

Children and flowers make the world a beautiful garden!

A single flower,
Or a bunch of flowers,
In a garden,
Or at our table,
A child in our hands,
Or a group of children,
At our house,
Or In a playground,
Bring immense pleasure,
To us and of course all!
And when you see,
Children and flowers,
In a garden,
And by chance,
Some small,
And young ones,
Of nature; together!
And you see children,
Admiring them,
And running after them,
It enhances our happiness,
And makes the world marvelous!
As these pictures profess.
















Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Experiencing the Joy of Monsoon Food!

The rainy season here in Hyderabad, is in full swing since last two days. It has been raining incessantly since yesterday afternoon. And on such wet, windy days, nothing warms your hearts and your bellies better than hot and spicy snacks and meals. Every home has its own Rainy Day Specials, coming out of their kitchens.  The list of popular Monsoon snacks is very long…Pakodi-Onion/Palak, Samosas, Bhajjis-Plain/Mirchi/Alu/Onion, Cutlets–Alu/Mixed vegetable, all these with a variety of Chutneys, Hot Puri with Curry of your choice, Barbecued corn on the cob and this list goes on and on with even foods like Grilled sandwiches, Pasta and Noodles and of course hot drinks like Tea, Coffee and a variety of Soups.
I have written few articles on popular Monsoon foods of our house and of some exotic foods we prepare during Rains and posted the details with photographs on my blog – Raghu's column! Followers of my blog are aware of this. Today evening it was another Rainy Day Special!
Today’s evening meal was a very colorful and delicious preparation. Everyone relished it. It was Steamed Vegetables with Garlic-Chili flakes-Lime Juice-grated Lime zest–Butter. The list of colorful vegetables goes as follows…Cauliflower, Broccoli, Baby Corn, Carrots, Baby Potatoes, Mushrooms and Green, Red and Yellow Capsicum.
The colorful spread is here for you to witness and appreciate through attached photographs and about the taste I must say that every one of us loved every vegetable and every bit of it!

Monday, July 17, 2017

Today is World Emoji Day!

Today is World Emoji Day. So, wish you all a very Happy World Emoji Day!
I am neither a fan nor a big user of Emojis. I use a few Emojis at times while sending out greetings simply because everyone else does it. However I am fully aware of the popularity of Emojis and how they are used extensively, sometimes more Emojis than words in a message!
World Emoji Day is celebrated annually since 2014, on 17th July. Since then it has become a global celebration of Emoji, mostly online.  There is hardly anyone who does not know of it or has not used it. But many would not know of its origins. Emoji is Japanese. It originated on Japanese mobile phones in late 1990s. It is now available internationally on all mobile phones and computers.
And for those who have not heard of or seen Emojis, they are like emoticons and exist in various genres, including facial expressions, common objects, places and types of weather, animals and so on. They are pictorial shortcuts to expressing ones emotions. They are great to use in situations such as texting and Twitter where the space to express is limited.
Here are some Emojis for your knowledge and use:  

·         😀 Grinning Face
·         😂 Face With Tears of Joy
·         😉 Winking Face
·         😘 Face Blowing a Kiss
·         😗 Kissing Face
·          Smiling Face
·         🙂 Slightly Smiling Face
·         🤗 Hugging Face
·         🤔 Thinking Face
·         😐 Neutral Face
·         😑 Expressionless Face
·         😶 Face Without Mouth
·         🙄 Face With Rolling Eyes
·         😏 Smirking Face
·         😣 Persevering Face
·         😮 Face With Open Mouth
·         🤐 Zipper-Mouth Face
·         😯 Hushed Face
·         😪 Sleepy Face
·         😫 Tired Face
·         😴 Sleeping Face
·         😌 Relieved Face
·         🤤 Drooling Face
·         😒 Unamused Face
·         😓 Face With Cold Sweat
·         😔 Pensive Face
·         😕 Confused Face
·         🙃 Upside-Down Face
·         🤑 Money-Mouth Face
·         😲 Astonished Face
·          Frowning Face
·         🙁 Slightly Frowning Face
·         😖 Confounded Face
·         😞 Disappointed Face
·         😟 Worried Face
·         😢 Crying Face
·         😭 Loudly Crying Face
·         😧 Anguished Face
·         😨 Fearful Face
·         😩 Weary Face
·         😬 Grimacing Face
·         😱 Face Screaming in Fear
·         😳 Flushed Face
·         😵 Dizzy Face
·         😡 Pouting Face
·         😠 Angry Face
·         😷 Face With Medical Mask
·         🤒 Face With Thermometer
·         🤕 Face With Head-Bandage
·         🤢 Nauseated Face
·         🤧 Sneezing Face
·         😇 Smiling Face With Halo
·         🤠 Cowboy Hat Face
·         🤡 Clown Face
·         🤥 Lying Face
·         🤓 Nerd Face
·         😈 Smiling Face With Horns
·         👿 Angry Face With Horns
·         👹 Ogre
·         👺 Goblin
·         💀 Skull
·         👻 Ghost
·         👽 Alien
·         🤖 Robot Face
·         💩 Pile of Poo
·         😼 Cat Face With Wry Smile
·         🙀 Weary Cat Face
·         😿 Crying Cat Face
·         😾 Pouting Cat Face
·         👶 Baby
·         👦 Boy
·         👧 Girl
·         👨 Man
·         👩 Woman
·         👴 Old Man
·         👵 Old Woman
·         👨‍🎓 Man Student
·         👩‍🎓 Woman Student
·         👨‍⚖️ Man Judge
·         👩‍⚖️ Woman Judge
·         👨‍🌾 Man Farmer
·         👩‍🌾 Woman Farmer
·         👨‍🍳 Man Cook
·         👩‍🍳 Woman Cook
·         👨‍🔧 Man Mechanic
·         👩‍🔧 Woman Mechanic
·         👨‍💼 Man Office Worker
·         👨‍🔬 Man Scientist
·         👩‍🔬 Woman Scientist
·         👨‍💻 Man Technologist
·         👨‍🎤 Man Singer
·         👩‍🎤 Woman Singer
·         👨‍🎨 Man Artist
·         👩‍🎨 Woman Artist
·         👨‍✈️ Man Pilot
·         👩‍✈️ Woman Pilot
·         👨‍🚀 Man Astronaut
·         👩‍🚀 Woman Astronaut
·         👨‍🚒 Man Firefighter
·         👩‍🚒 Woman Firefighter
·         👮 Police Officer
·         🕵 Detective
·         💂 Guard
·         💂‍♂️ Man Guard
·         💂‍♀️ Woman Guard
·         👷 Construction Worker
·         🤴 Prince
·         👸 Princess
·         👳 Person Wearing Turban
·         👲 Man With Chinese Cap
·         👱 Blond-Haired Person
·         🤵 Man in Tuxedo
·         👰 Bride With Veil
·         🤰 Pregnant Woman
·         👼 Baby Angel
·         🎅 Santa Claus
·         🤶 Mrs. Claus
·         🙍 Person Frowning
·         🙍‍♂️ Man Frowning
·         🙍‍♀️ Woman Frowning
·         🙎 Person Pouting
·         🙎‍♂️ Man Pouting
·         🙎‍♀️ Woman Pouting
·         🙅 Person Gesturing No
·         🙆 Person Gesturing OK
·         💁 Person Tipping Hand
·         🙋 Person Raising Hand
·         🙇 Person Bowing
·         🙇‍♂️ Man Bowing
·         🙇‍♀️ Woman Bowing
·         🤦 Person Facepalming
·         🤦‍♂️ Man Facepalming
·         🤷 Person Shrugging
·         🤷‍♂️ Man Shrugging
·         🤷‍♀️ Woman Shrugging
·         💆 Person Getting Massage
·         💇 Person Getting Haircut
·         🚶 Person Walking
·         🚶‍♂️ Man Walking
·         🚶‍♀️ Woman Walking
·         🏃 Person Running
·         🏃‍♂️ Man Running
·         🏃‍♀️ Woman Running
·         💃 Woman Dancing
·         🕺 Man Dancing
·         🗣 Speaking Head
·         👤 Bust in Silhouette
·         👥 Busts in Silhouette
·         👬 Two Men Holding Hands
·         👭 Two Women Holding Hands
·         💏 Kiss
·         💑 Couple With Heart
·         👪 Family
·         👨‍👦 Family: Man, Boy
·         👨‍👧 Family: Man, Girl
·         🤳 Selfie
·         💪 Flexed Biceps
·          Index Pointing Up
·         🖕 Middle Finger
·          Victory Hand
·         🤞 Crossed Fingers
·         🖖 Vulcan Salute
·         🤘 Sign of the Horns
·          Raised Hand
·         👌 OK Hand
·         👍 Thumbs Up
·         👎 Thumbs Down
·          Raised Fist
·         👊 Oncoming Fist
·         🤛 Left-Facing Fist
·         🤜 Right-Facing Fist
·         🤚 Raised Back of Hand
·         👋 Waving Hand
·          Writing Hand
·         👏 Clapping Hands
·         👐 Open Hands
·         🙌 Raising Hands
·         🙏 Folded Hands
·         🤝 Handshake
·         💅 Nail Polish
·         👂 Ear
·         👃 Nose
·         👣 Footprints
·         👀 Eyes
·         👁 Eye
·         👅 Tongue
·         👄 Mouth
·         💋 Kiss Mark
·         👓 Glasses
·         🕶 Sunglasses
·         👔 Necktie
·         👕 T-Shirt
·         👖 Jeans
·         👗 Dress
·         👘 Kimono
·         👙 Bikini
·         👚 Woman’s Clothes
·         👛 Purse
·         👜 Handbag
·         👝 Clutch Bag
·         🎒 School Backpack
·         👞 Man’s Shoe
·         👟 Running Shoe
·         👠 High-Heeled Shoe
·         👡 Woman’s Sandal
·         👢 Woman’s Boot
·         👑 Crown
·         👒 Woman’s Hat
·         🎩 Top Hat
·         🎓 Graduation Cap
·          Rescue Worker’s Helmet
·         💄 Lipstick
·         💍 Ring
·         🌂 Closed Umbrella
·          Umbrella
·         💼 Briefcase

An appeal as Lok Sabha Elections 2024 schedule is out!

  I n the midst of Lok Sabha's grand affair, With schedules laid out, we're now aware. Excitement brews within my kin and me, To cho...